SysAid is a popular help desk solution designed to streamline IT support services. Its design and layout are specifically tailored to the workflows of IT departments. Rather than providing an all-purpose CRM or customer service platform, SysAid places applications such as remote monitoring, hardware and configuration management and performance analysis tools front and center.

SysAid’s list view of help desk records with a range of filtering and sorting options

Resources

SysAid Help Desk: Contains essential help desk functions, along with asset and performance management.

SysAid ITSM: Adds IT service management (ITSM) tools useful for managing larger departments, such as configuration and service level management.

SysAid ITSM Enterprise: SysAid’s most full-featured offering, which includes all the tools of the lower tier products, with the addition of VIP support and a faster setup process.

SysAid is used by many small and midsize organizations. However, no one solution is perfect for every company, and prospective buyers should carefully consider their options. To help with your comparison, we’ve put together the following list of SysAid alternatives, grouped into the following two categories:

Most Asked-About SysAid Alternatives

The first group of SysAid alternatives is comprised of products selected for their overall popularity. To compile this list, we scored products based on their brand’s online popularity as well as responses to our own survey of software users.

Zendesk

Zendesk is one of the most recognizable names in support software. Its popularity can be attributed to its standing as one of the most customizable cloud-based help desk platforms. It’s known for its quick and easy implementation process and user-friendly interface.

Zendesk offers both a customer service platform and a help desk platform. The latter provides more of the technical and IT-focused functionality required to manage IT service departments. With a mobile friendly interface, IT staff can manage and resolve support requests from Android, BlackBerry and iOS devices.

Lastly, Zendesk earns high praise for the variety of third-party plug-ins, letting companies integrate their other primary software applications, including those from Salesforce and Google Analytics.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow is a popular SysAid alternative with a collection of advanced ITSM applications. With features such as a self-service portal that helps employees handle simple requests themselves, ServiceNow is intended to increase efficiency.

SysAid includes a variety of tracking and monitoring tools in its centralized administration dashboard. It can, for example, keep tabs on configuration and change management initiatives while also tracking the financial costs associated with all ongoing projects.

ServiceDesk Plus

ServiceDesk Plus is another popular SysAid alternative, with many praising it for its automation features in particular. It has a relatively expansive feature set that includes tools for project management and features for companies using an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) approach.

ServiceDesk Plus is designed to be installed on-premise, or it can be purchased as a cloud-based platform called ServiceDesk Plus On-Demand.

Top User-Rated SysAid Alternatives

The next two SysAid alternatives were chosen for receiving the highest ratings on Software Advice.

Help Scout

Help Scout is a full-featured help desk platform. Many reviewers praise its usability and time-saving features. Jesse of Riskalyze wrote:

“The UI is great [...] and the workflows are easy to learn and relatively powerful. Keyboard shortcuts are killer. But most of all, I love that Help Scout doesn’t feel ‘heavy’ or ‘dated.’ It feels modern, fast and clean. And the support people are just plain awesome.”

Many others also praise the Help Scout support team. While most businesses expect some level of support from their software provider, companies without dedicated IT staff might need support more often, especially soon after their purchase. Choosing a provider like Help Scout can make all the difference.

Samanage

Samanage is a relatively advanced help desk platform. It provides functionality suited to managing larger IT operations, including:

Service catalog: Employees can use an automated system to request basic IT services.

Knowledgebase support: A centralized, searchable database which provides IT staff and employees with a common resource for problem solving.

Incidents and risks monitoring: Dashboards offer overviews of outstanding issues and track progress as risks are identified and resolved.

Next Steps

IT is central to the operations of nearly every modern business, and help desk platforms provide essential operational functionality. There are many help desk providers to choose from and buyers are encouraged to research their options carefully. If none of the above SysAid alternatives seem like the right fit for you, expand your search by checking out the ratings and reviews on our site.